The Utah Jazz have sent guard Gordan Giricek and a 1st round draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for sharpshooting forward Kyle Korver.
Expected
When head coach Jerry Sloan sent Gordan Giricek home, the writing was on the wall. The guard from Croatia had fallen out of favor with the coach after some harsh words were exchanged between the two during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Gordan Giricek was brought back to the team, and everyone in the organization said the right things about moving forward and focusing on basketball. However, behind the scenes, the Utah Jazz were working the phones pretty hard to get a deal done.
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For the Utah Jazz This trade accomplishes two things for the Utah Jazz. They get rid of a bad locker room influence in Gordan Giricek, who has been unhappy with the team since the beginning of the season. He had requested a trade to another team earlier in the season. His unhappiness made him a constant thorn in the side of the coaching staff. The Utah Jazz also acquired a sharpshooter in Kyle Korver. Kyle Korver is an excellent outside shooter who can free up the middle even more for Carlos Boozer. His range also makes it more difficult for defenses to collapse when Deron Williams penetrates. He is expected to take over the 6th man spot for the Utah Jazz. |
For the Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers basically picked up an expiring contract and a first round draft pick.
With the Utah Jazz currently sitting at 9th place in the Western Conference, there’s a chance that they could end up missing the playoffs. If they do, that draft pick becomes even more valuable to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Gordan Giricek’s expiring contract could end up being more valuable than what he can actually contribute on the basketball floor.
It’s no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers are rebuilding. They’d love to acquire as many expiring contracts as possible to have as much flexibility as possible. They’re still looking to trade guard Andre Miller for some expiring contracts as well.
For the time being, Gordan Giricek can provide the Philadelphia 76ers with some depth behind Willie Green and Andre Iguodala.
Closing Thoughts
Very good trade that should help out both teams. It’s another one of these minor trades that the casual sports fans are going to overlook.
January 1st, 2008 at 12:42 pm
i think this trade will be great for the jazz because korver is a good shotter and a good all around guy. And we get rid of gordon who has just been a big problem for the coaching staff.